so lately it has been feeling a little romantic in my house and also very chaotic and stressed. a lot like i’m running some kind of fast paced hotel business. i feel like i’m constantly catering to the needs of my family. i guess because i am. i have also felt very creative lately, like i might upgrade from a motel to a B&B. i will just pretend like we live somewhere fancy and i’m serving very important customers. i have to feed them, wow them and give them plenty of romance, eye candy, history, a warm place to sleep and solitude. i can pretend, can’t i?????

for instance….we baked an angel food cake (just add water) the other day and some yummy peanut butter chewies. easy for the kids (the B&B)…lots of cleanup for me (the motel).

zoey girlfriend is waving those mitts like she’s ready for flight. either that or she’s fixin to karate chop that cake in half. give me angel food cake or take away all my toys.

we moved from easy cake to more productive p.butter chewies. i love these cookies. they are a no bake cookie that packs a huge punch. lots of calories, lots of protein, lots of calcium, lots of vitamins, and way, way cheaper than those expensive breakfast bars…..

ingredients…………and i do not really have the exact amounts………………………

2 CUPS PEANUT BUTTER (chunk, smooth, extra cruncy…whatever you like)

1 PACKET OF DRY MILK

ABOUT 1/2 CUP OR SO OF POWDERED SUGAR

ABOUT 1/2 OR SO CUP OF HONEY

mix together and keep altering ingredients until they form a dough like consistency….like playdough. this is great for the little ones to play with!!! big kids too.

scoop with ice cream scoop or melon ball utensil or roll into balls or cut with biscuit cutter or cookie cutter. store in fridge for over a month. store in freezer until???? or just eat immediately and ENJOY!!!

now that i have fed all the hungry occupants, i’ve decided to move on to the decorating…right? i’ve either been cleaning like a fool, letting things get really cluttered or organizing the clutter. mostly the last….trying to organize the clutter…for my guests???? no, for my sanity. i purchased a bunch of cute rose patterned boxes this weekend (i was visiting a fried of mine for the weekend and she took me shopping at all the good discount places!!! thanks margarite.) at the value stores and i’ve been organizing all my tags, ephemera, lace, doilies, collage pieces, etc… i’ve just stacked and stacked. when in doubt, stack. does anyone else just stack and stack or am i the only clutter bug there is????

here is a close up of this great lamp piece i got for about $4 at a great antique store. i found the pretty glass candle holder for a song at g.w. bins and added it to the top of this rusty lamp. i love the romance of it all. it makes such a pretty tea lite holder.

i also found this silver plate candle stick for $2, added a cast off lamp piece and a cheap purple glass candle holder to the top of it for the same instant charm. you can hardly see it all, but it is so cute and such a great way to make a statement for not much $$$.

i know, i know…..how many times can i take pics of my statues????? aaahhh, but give them little crowns made from cheap junk and there is yet another portrait waiting for my blog. i painted out the crowns white and i think they look rather regal.

as if the guests don’t have enough to look at, here is some more stuff i’ve been musing lately. i got a little out of the box and made a strange display above the stove. it’s fun to look at while i drudge thru the cooking. i’m sure my husband doesn’t know if i’m going to cook or feed canaries. i found the german menu in the trash. i just think it’s great all caged up. it will give my kids a reason to make fun of me later in life.

love, love, love the mill flowers. found them in a shop this weekend. paid $11 total for them all. i couldn’t stop myself.

then i found this killer rag balls (not the green ones) for $1 each. i love the colors.

i can’t stop making bird nests in old hats. make it stop. it’s a cute way to display hats that look better on the inside than the outside. i have been making these for my booth lately.

speaking of hats, i found these two last weekend. i love the colors of them. i hope one day zoey will like to try on hats. i need a HUGE hall tree to just put all my hats on.

musing my postcard collection…..

i know, i know…..this goes on and on. i can’t help it. i love to go to blogs where folks take a ton of photos, so enjoy.

arek has been challenged by school recently, so we have decided to make charts and hang them on the doors of his closet. these are reminders of what he can do for himself to help him have a more productive, energetic day with less distraction and more concentration. this is the part where i feel like i am training the employee to help with the B&B. or more like the motel in his case.

i can only hope that my employee doesn’t get fired and learns his rules quickly. poor arek. he has such a hard time in school. we have more charts to make soon. employee morale.

hope you enjoyed the tour of my new profession….me as a hotel worker/inn keeper. just another list of credentials to add to the resume when i finally go back into the real world. an inn keeper, they will ask. i’ll say….”of course. oh…and a manager; interior decorator, chef and teacher. mom….it’s a tough business.

I soooo love your pictures, so please don’t stop taking them and sharing them with us. Love that little Zoey…and she does look like she’s gonna karate chop the cake!!

Those breakfast bars look tooooo yummy. I’m gonna try making them this weekend! I do the same thing with sorting and stacking. Except my containers are the ugly plastic ones, not the beautiful flower ones like yours!

Oh Sue…you busy girl! We use to make those breakfast bars except my mom called it peanut butter playdo. My mom did daycare so we had it alot. It is really good. I can almost taste it now.
I love the wicker basket with the barbola roses. Someday I will have one too!
Gotta go do laundry…yuck!

Wow, you are a busy girl, but I love your B&B, can I come stay? I love the photos of all your junk, so keep them coming! You are so creative, Im sure Zoey will follow your footsteps, and your son will , but wont admit it…isnt that what men do? My son has a few collections, and when I brought it to his attention, he denied it totally,”no, Im not going to be like you”!We’ll see….
Sue

We would love to come visit~The girls and I treasure the time spent with you while you were here~Junkin, drinking hazelnut coffee, eating fishsticks & french fries for breakfast~LOL~ Maybe someday you will make it back to Columbus….Your pictures look awesome~Zoey is a doll~Give Zoey & Arek lots of hugs & kisses from all of us!!~Take care~We love ya’ 🙂